1st Saturday each month. Pop in join in with practical growing activities with the Edible Gardening Project volunteers, find out what jobs need doing in your own garden now and have your questions answered.

Every first Saturday afternoon of the month at 3pm join a free, drop in, public tour of the Botanic Cottage and discover how it was saved and rebuilt. Arrive early to avoid disappointment as numbers are limited.

Food is connected to just about every aspect of our lives. Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI) collective presents a week of tasty science exploring what we eat and how the nation's diet affects our health and that of the natural world. Fun and engaging drop-in activities developed in association with Young Scot will be accompanied by pop-up talks presented by SEFARI scientists at 2pm and 3pm each day, check rbge.org.uk for details.

In Summer 2018, artist Tim Vincent Smith and his team will be building an amphitheatre entirely from discarded pianos to grace the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and we need your help to make it happen. A first of its kind performance space, the #Pianodrome will bring art, music, science, movement and creativity under one geodesic dome roof. Join us to create artisits interventions and build experimental instruments.

From parakeets to Japanese knotweed, invasive non-native species are accused of harming our ‘native' wildlife. Environmental journalist Fred Pearce challenges this widespread view and asks whether demonising these species is justified by science. In the vast majority of cases these species are model ecological citizens and some of the perceived 'problem' species may even be the crucial first step towards repairing ecological damage caused by human actions and interventions. Maybe it is time we learnt to love this 'new wild'?